Compliance monitoring 2011/2012

Quality for Life

What happened in 2011/12?

Greater Wellington monitored 1631 resource consents during the 2011/12 year. An additional 542 resource consents were not given a compliance rating, largely because the consented activity was not undertaken in that year and therefore no inspection was necessary.

Greater Wellington updated its Compliance Rating System at the start of 2011/12. The new system has four categories of compliance:• Fullcompliance – All administrative and effects / best practice conditions are met• Technicalnon-compliance – Some administrative conditions not met (eg, failure to notify

Greater Wellington of works or failure to provide information), however, all environmental effects or best practice conditions are met

• Environmentalnon-compliance – Environmental effects and/or best practice conditions not met

• Significantnon-compliance – Repeated breach of environmental effects and/or best practice conditions or significant breach of environmental effects and/or best practice conditions

The majority (64%) of consents inspected were rated with full compliance, while 30% of consents inspected received a rating of technical non-compliance. Only 6% of consents monitored breached conditions relating to environmental effects or best practice. The table below shows the number of consents where compliance monitoring was undertaken in 2011/12, and their compliance rating across the different consent types.

Table 1: Compliance inspections and ratings for 2011/12

Type of resource consent Land Use Consent

Coastal Permit

Water Permit Discharge Permit

Total

Full compliance 196 163 300 386 1045 (64%)

Technical non-compliance 70 47 263 105 485 (30%)

Environmental non-compliance 19 1 19 29 68 (4%)

Significant non-compliance 6 1 3 23 33 (2%)

Total number of consents inspected

1631

Key Points

• GreaterWellingtonmonitored1,631consentsin2011/12–asimilarnumberofconsentstothatmonitoredinthepreviousyear

• Justunder94%ofconsentsmonitoredcompliedwithenvironmentaleffectsorbestpractice-basedconsentconditions

• Compliancewithwaterpermitsremainedaconcern.Almosthalfofallwaterpermitsmonitoreddidn’tfullycomplywiththeirconsentconditions

• TheNZTransportAgencywontheExcellenceinComplianceAwardin2011forworkcompletedinconstructingtheEmeraldGlenRoadtoMacKaysCrossingRoundabout

Trends and comments for each consent type

The consent type with the highest proportion of non-compliance is water permits, as shown in Figure 1 below:

Figure 1: Compliance ratings for consent types

Compliance ratings for consent types

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Land UseConsent

CoastalPermit

WaterPermit

DischargePermit

Signi�cant non-compliance

Environmental non-compliance

Technical non-compliance

Full compliance

%

Consent Type

More information

For more information on compliance monitoring undertaken by Greater Wellington, contact the Environment Helpdesk on 0800 496 734 or the Wairarapa office on 06 378 2484.

For more information on Greater Wellington’s environmental regulation activities, visit our website at www.gw.govt.nz.

Water permitsNearly half of all water permits inspected in 2011/12 didn’t fully comply with their conditions of consent. This is a similar level to that observed in 2010/11. The primary reason identified last year was the failure of many consent holders to submit their water usage records, particularly in the Wairarapa. Greater Wellington had hoped to see improved performance in 2011/12 after significant time was spent informing and educating consent holders during the year about the new regulations for measuring and reporting water takes. While Greater Wellington is aware that many water take consent holders have made improvements to water use recording and reporting systems, there are still a large number of consent holders who don’t supply information appropriately. When consent holders have repeatedly ignored requests to provide water use information, abatement notices have been issued.

Figure 2: Water meter inspection in South Wairarapa

Land use consentsOverall the level of compliance for fully complying land use consents (67%) was slightly better than last year.

Coastal permitsCoastal permits have the highest level of compliance compared to other consent types. Breaches of environmental effects or best practice conditions was only observed in less than 1% of coastal permits inspected.

Discharge permitsDischarge permits have traditionally had the most number of consents rated with non-compliance relating to environmental effects or best practice conditions. This was no different in 2011/12 where nearly 10% of consents rated with environmental or significant non-compliance. Approximately a third of the discharge permits inspected in 2011/12 were for assessing compliance with dairy effluent management systems. Overall, the level of compliance for dairy effluent consents remained high. Only 5% of consents monitored breached conditions relating to environmental effects or best practice.

Significant compliance sites

There have been a number of major projects in the region where Greater Wellington compliance staff undertake frequent site visits (up to fortnightly in some cases) including roading infrastructure projects (Muldoon’s Corner on the Rimutaka Hill Road, the Westchester Drive extension), urban development sites (particularly in Wellington’s Northern Urban Growth area), forestry sites, and wastewater treatment plants upgrades (notably at the Masterton wastewater treatment plant).

Figure 3: Construction of new wastewater treatment ponds and dis-

charge to land system at Homebush, Masterton

Encore Awards – Excellence in Compliance Award

The Encore Awards, jointly managed by Greater Wellington and the Department of Conservation, entered its third year. The awards recognise excellence in conservation and environmental management in the Wellington region, including the Excellence in Compliance Award for outstanding compliance work on consented sites. At the time of publication, the nominations for the 2012 award were under consideration.

The 2011 winner of the Excellence in Compliance Award was the NZTransportAgencyProjectTeam for the EmeraldGlenRoadtoMcKaysCrossingRoundabout.

The NZ Transport Agency project team consisted of Opus International and Fletchers on design; Beca, Higgins and Goodmans on construction; Brian Perry Civil on site management; and Goodmans on erosion and sediment control. The project team went well beyond their consent requirements in constructing the roundabout.

The project team adopted a “no surprises” approach to communication with Greater Wellington, neighbours and iwi; minimised vegetation disturbance during the project; and used innovative solutions to maintain fish passage and control erosion and sediment. The team’s well thought-out approach to achieve a beneficial outcome involved spending nine months designing and consulting, and three months on construction,

Enforcement 2011/2012

Quality for Life

IntroductionGreater Wellington has a responsibility to enforce the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). Breaches of the RMA are identified during the investigation of environmental incidents or as a result of non-compliance with resource consents. Enforcement decisions are then made by a panel consisting of a combination of enforcement officers, team leaders and managers to ensure a consistent approach. This card summarises enforcement action taken in 2011/12 in response to non-compliance confirmed by Greater Wellington officers.

Environmental Regulation staff have a range of tools available to deal with breaches of the RMA. Figure 1 shows the different types of regulatory actions taken by Greater Wellington in 2011/12. In determining the most appropriate form of enforcement action, Greater Wellington officers consider factors such as the severity of environmental effects, compliance history, efforts to remediate and the likelihood of reoffending.

Figure 1: Summary of actions taken for non-compliant activities

Type of action 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 2004-05Advisory notices

56 90 76 82 60 48 58 61

Warning letters

236 147 134 149 85 40 15 2

Infringement notices

52 46 32 46 49 41 44 21

Abatement notices

58 74 137 91 83 29 24 26

Enforcement orders

1 0 1 0 2 4 0 2

Prosecutions 3 8 6 8 4 7 0 0Totals 406 365 386 376 283 169 141 112

Informal ActionAdvisory noticesAdvisory notices are a non-statutory means for addressing non-compliance. Their purpose is to quickly identify the non-compliance issue and to outline the action or actions required to rectify the problem. These notices are issued on-site and are a fast and effective way of ensuring that adverse environmental effects are remedied. In 2011/12, 56 advisory notices were issued, a 38% decrease from 2010/11 (see Figure 1).

Formal ActionWarning lettersWarning letters notify key personnel within an organisation of identified breaches of the RMA, and contribute to an organisation’s recorded compliance history. The letters will go to the company, the directors, and any other responsible parties such as managers, landowners or contractors. This ensures that all parties involved are fully informed of the breaches they are responsible for, and potential consequences should a similar incident occur again. In 2011/12, 236 warning letters were issued - a 60% increase from 2010/2011. The increase was mainly due to a large number of water take consent holders not submitting water usage records, and therefore being issued with warning letters.

Key Points

• 11%increaseinenforcementactionsresultingfromnon-compliancewiththeRMAfrom2010/11to2011/12

• 13%increaseininfringementnoticesissuedfrom2010/11to2011/12

• 22%decreaseinabatementnoticesissuedfrom2010/11to2011/12,continuingthedownwardtrendfrom2009/10

• 61%increaseinwarninglettersissuedfrom2010/11to2011/12

Abatement noticesAbatement notices are a formal instruction directing the recipient to cease or take certain actions to address an environmental effect and/or comply with regulations. In 2011/12, 58 abatement notices were issued. Of these notices, 55% were for offences involving discharges of contaminants to the environment (air, water or land). A further 24% were notices requiring people to take certain actions in order to comply with a rule in a regional plan or their resource consent. Unauthorised stream works (such as placement of structures, disturbance of the bed, or deposition of material) resulted in the issue of 21% of all abatement notices.

Infringement noticesInfringement notices are an individual deterrent in response to minor to moderate environmental effects. The notices are issued for a single offence against the RMA and impose fines ranging from $300 to $1000 depending on the nature of the offence.

In 2011/12, 52 infringement notices were issued with a combined value of $26,750, an increase of $3,400 from last year. Of these notices, 31% were issued for unauthorised discharges of contaminants to the environment. The other infringement notices were issued in relation to the taking or diversion of water (25%), stream works (17%), coastal works (7%) and breaches of abatement notices (2%).

Enforcement ordersEnforcement orders are made by the Environment Court instructing a person to resolve an environmental effect and/or comply with regulatory requirements. One enforcement order was made in 2011/12, requiring the recipient to cease discharges of contaminants to land over 150 metres above average mean sea level (AMSL) in accordance with their resource consent. The order also required them to have survey pegs installed at 150 metres AMSL by a registered surveyor. This order was made at the time of sentencing for a prosecution case.

Prosecutions A prosecution is a criminal proceeding to punish the offender and serve as a deterrent to others. Significant breaches of the RMA can result in prosecution with a maximum fine of $600,000 for a company or $300,000 or two years imprisonment for an individual. A total of 19 charges were laid against three parties during 2011/12.

Three charges were laid against a local Council for unauthorised discharges of treated effluent to a stream from their municipal wastewater treatment plant. The Council pleaded guilty to one charge and the remaining two were withdrawn. The District Court favoured a

“restorative justice” approach and convicted and discharged the Council after a $20,000 donation was made to a restoration project for the affected stream.

Seven charges were laid against an automotive spraypainting company for unauthorised discharges of contaminants to air where chemical odours were adversely affecting people at neighbouring properties. Guilty pleas were entered and the company was convicted and fined $10,000. As a result of these proceedings, the company relocated to a more appropriate site for their activities.

Nine charges were laid against a sawmilling company for unauthorised discharges of contaminated stormwater to land where it entered a local stream. The stormwater was contaminated with timber treatment chemicals and heavy metals. Guilty pleas were entered to seven of the charges and two were withdrawn. The company undertook remedial measures on site and was convicted and fined $21,000 by the Court.

Cost RecoveryGreater Wellington’s policy is to recover the costs incurred in responding to confirmed breaches of the RMA. These costs are sought to ensure that the actual and reasonable costs of compliance work are shared with the non-compliant party and are not borne by the ratepayer. In 2011/12 cost recovery notices were issued to the value of $11,007.71.

Enforcement HistoryThe range of tools used by Greater Wellington for enforcement has evolved since 1999. Figure 3 shows the changes in the use of the different tools over time.

0

50

100

150

200

250

1999-2000 2000-01 2001-01 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12

Nu

mb

er

Infringement NoticesAbatement NoticesEnforcement OrdersProsecutionsAdvisory noticesWarning Letters

Figure 2: Enforcement action from 1999 – 2012

What can you do?If you notice an environmental incident or an activity you think may have adverse environmental effects, please phone Greater Wellington’s Environmental Incidents Hotline on 0800 496 734. This is a 24-hour service.

White substance discharged to Kakariki Stream in Paraparaumu.

Ponding dairy effluent discharge to land from irrigator failure.

More informationFor more information about how to avoid, reduce or respond to pollution, phone our Environmental Protection team on 0800 496 734.

For more information on Greater Wellington’s environmental regulation activities please visit our website at www.gw.govt.nz

Incident Response 2011/12

Quality for Life

Environmental incident responseDuring the 2011/12 year, Greater Wellington responded to 1,107 notifications and 1,064 environmental incidents, mainly reported through our Environmental Incidents Hotline. Figure 1 shows the total number of notifications and environmental incidents received over the last twelve years. Environmental incident numbers have decreased slightly from the 1,174 incidents investigated in 2010/11 and 1,157 incidents investigated in 2009/10.

Figure 1: Incident reporting from 2000 to 2012

When Greater Wellington is notified of an incident, the role of the on call team (normally a nominated duty officer) is largely one of coordination and investigation. On site, the duty officer’s role is to identify adverse environmental effects and direct those responsible to take any action necessary to remedy or mitigate the risk to the environment. Duty officers evaluate the environmental significance of each incident, assess compliance, determine necessary action, gather evidence and take enforcement action where appropriate.

Significance of environmental incidentsIncidents are categorised by their environmental significance (high, moderate or minor). The significance of each environmental incident is assessed based on the severity, extent and duration of the incident.

High

Moderate

Minor

Negligible

Not Assessed

Figure 2: Significance of 1,064 environmental incidents investigated during the 2011/12 year.

In 2011/12, six incidents were rated to be of “high” environmental significance (compared to 15 in 2010/11 and 11 in 2009/10). The 2011/12 incidents of high significance involved sewage, sediment and other liquid waste discharges to surface water, and two instances of deaths of animals and birds resulting from affected surface water.

For resulting enforcement action see Enforcement 2011/12.

Key Points

• Thenumberofenvironmentalincidentsinvestigatedthisyearhasdecreasedslightlyfrom1,174inthe2010/11yearto1,064inthe2011/12year

• AircontinuestobetheenvironmentmostaffectedbypollutionintheWellingtonregion,with30%ofallincidentsreportedrelatingtoodour

• 24%ofallenvironmentalincidentsreportedresultedinconfirmedbreachesofregionalrulesandtheResourceManagementAct1991–a1%increasefromlastyear

500

700

900

1100

1300

1500

1700

1900

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Inci

den

ts N

oti

�ca

tio

ns

Environmental non-complianceOf all incidents reported in 2011/12, 24% were not complying, 19% were complying, whilst 1% of incidents were due to natural occurences. For the remaining 56%, an assessment of compliance was not applicable (“not assessed”). There could be a number of reasons for this, including:• Incidents that did not merit a site visit from Greater

Wellington e.g. notifications received after the event, and notifications not within our jurisdiction.

• Incidents not attended as the duty officer was attending another incident at time of notification

• Incidents where the duty officer attended but the effects had gone when the officer arrived

• Incidents outside of GW jurisdiction and that were referred to another agency to assess, e.g. district plan issue, HAZNO related notifications

Non-complying 24%

Compliant 19%

Natural occurrence 1%

Not assessed 56%

Figure 3: Compliance for incidents investigated in 2011/12.

Receiving EnvironmentAn incident can have an effect on one or more receiving environments. Figure 4 shows that in 2011/12, air continued to be the most commonly affected environment, which is consistent with previous years. In 2011/12, 70% of all air incidents reported were odour related. Common sources of odour include farms, meatworks, hazardous waste treatment facilities, municipal services such as landfills and wastewater treatment plants, and manufacturing and solvent use at industrial sites.

Air 42%

Coastline 8%

Land 28%

Freshwater 22%

Figure 4: Receiving environments affected in 2011/12.

Main types of pollutionFigure 5 shows that in 2011/12, odour generated 30% of all incidents. Liquid waste closely followed at 20% of all incidents. Sources of liquid waste discharges include concrete cutting or cement waste, paint residue, and vehicle wash water from residential properties.

Odour 30%

Liquid waste 20%

Hydrocarbons 5%

Sediment/silt 10%

Smoke & dust 6%

Unconsented work 2%

Solid waste 3%

Sewage 6%

Natural occurence 1%

Hazardous material 2%

Other 15%

Figure 5: Main pollution types in 2011/12.

Paint discharge in the Botanical Gardens

Sediment discharge to a stream

Green dye discharged to a stream

Discharges to a stream from a landfill

Incident follow-upEnvironmental incident investigations have two key drivers:• A positive environmental outcome • Individual and wider public deterrence

When the Environmental Regulation team responds to an incident and confirms a breach of environmental regulations, a range of formal and informal enforcement tools are available to an officer to obtain individual and wider public deterrence (see Enforcement 2011/12).

When the source of pollution can’t be traced or a breach is not confirmed, educational advice is given to the parties involved or mailed to neighbourhoods to raise environmental awareness. Media statements are also released asking the public for more information or to provide advice and information on how to prevent pollution.

Cost RecoveryGreater Wellington’s policy is to recover costs associated with incident response. In 2011/12 cost recovery notices were issued to the value of $11,007.71.

What can you do?If you notice an environmental incident or an activity that you think may have an adverse environmental effect, please call Greater Wellington’s Environmental Incidents Hotline on 0800 496 734. This is a 24-hour service.

More informationIf you want more information about how to avoid, reduce or respond to pollution, please call the Environment Helpdesk on 0800 496 734.

For more information on Greater Wellington’s environmental regulation activities please visit our website at www.gw.govt.nz.

Resource Consents 2011/2012

Quality for Life

What happened in 2011/12?

During the 2011/12 financial year, Greater Wellington’s consents team processed 575 resource consent applications to a decision (including six certificates of compliance). The majority (93%) of applications were processed on a non-notified basis.

Type of resource consent Land Use Coastal Water Discharge Total

Total 2011/12 202 (35%) 153 (26%) 125 (22%) 95 (17%) 575

Total 2010/11 243 (41%) 38 (6%) 210 (35%) 105 (18%) 596

Total 2009/10 216 (46%) 35 (7%) 127 (28%) 68 (18%) 467

Total 2008/09 270 (49%) 28 (5%) 129 (24%) 119 (22%) 546

Total 2007/08 388 (55%) 63 (9%) 149 (21%) 108 (15%) 708

Total 2006/07 301 (47%) 69 (11%) 158 (25%) 109 (17%) 637

Total 2005/06 361 (52%) 58 (8%) 120 (17%) 158 (23%) 697

Table 1: Resource consents and certificates of compliances processed since 2005/06, by type

The number of consents processed during 2011/12 declined slightly compared to 2010/12. There was a significant increase in the number of coastal permits processed. This was due to a large number of consented boatsheds expiring in 2011/12 and subsequent replacement permits being granted.

Key Points

• 575resourceconsentapplicationswereprocessedin2011/12.99.8%oftheseapplicationswereprocessedwithinstatutorytimeframes

• 93%ofapplicationswereprocessedonanon-notifiedbasis

• Ofthe11notifiedconsentprojectsprocessed,onlyonedecisionwasappealedtotheEnvironmentCourt

• Fourappealslodgedpriorto2011/12weresuccessfullyresolvedduringtheyear

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12

Year

No

.of

con

sen

ts p

roce

ssed

Figure 1: Resource consents processed 2005-2012

More informationFor more information on resource consents processed by Greater Wellington, the resource consent process, or which activities may require consent, contact the Environment Helpdesk on 0800 496 734 or the Wairarapa office on 06 378 2484.For more information on Greater Wellington’s environmental regulation activities, visit our website at www.gw.govt.nz.

Notified applications

The following applications were all approved (with consent conditions), without the need of a formal hearing. In each case the applicant, submitters (if relevant), and Greater Wellington all agreed to a negotiated outcome: • Whitby Coastal Estates Ltd – land use consents, water

permit, and discharge permit associated with the development of a 49 hectare site for residential subdivision at Whitby, Porirua

• Bledisloe New Zealand Ltd (trading as Lychgate Funeral Home) – discharge permit to discharge contaminants to air from a cremator in Te Aro, Wellington

• Pauatahanui Forest Ltd – land use consents, water permits, and discharge permit associated with the harvesting of 44 hectares of pine forest near Judgeford, Porirua

• South Wairarapa District Council – variation to existing discharge permit to alter discharge standards associated with the operation of the Martinborough wastewater treatment plant, near Martinborough

• South Wairarapa District Council – coastal permits to construct boulder beaches along a 25km stretch of coastline in Palliser Bay

• A J C Bidwill – water permits and land use consent associated with the taking of surface water from Lake Wairarapa/Mangatete Stream for irrigation purposes at Kahutara, South Wairarapa

This list of applications represents just over half of the notified consent projects processed in 2011/12. This indicates that Greater Wellington’s processes for working through issues with applicants and submitters (including pre-hearing meetings) have been relatively successful in reaching a negotiated outcome.

The following applications were all approved (with consent conditions), at a resource consent hearing: • GWRC Water Supply – variation to existing water permit

to lower the minimum flow in the Hutt River for a period of 3 years while the Stuart Macaskill Lakes are upgraded at Kaitoke, Upper Hutt

• Horokiwi Quarries Ltd – coastal permits associated with the extraction of up to 12,500m3 of sand and gravel in Fitzroy Bay, Pencarrow

• T&T Landfills Ltd – variation to existing discharge permits to allow treated timber(and associated levels or arsenic and chromium) to be discharged/deposited at a construction and demolition landfill near Owhiro Bay, Wellington

• Bledisloe New Zealand Ltd (trading as Wairarapa Funeral Services) – discharge permit to discharge contaminants to air from a cremator in Masterton

• Genesis Power Ltd – land use consents, water permits, and discharge permits associated with the development of the Castle Hill Wind Farm in northern Wairarapa

The resource consent hearings held for these applications were heard by either Greater Wellington Councillors and/or Independent Commissioners.

Appeals and objections

Of the 11 notified projects completed, only the Genesis Power Ltd decision on the Castle Hill Wind Farm was appealed to the Environment Court. In this case four appeals, from submitters and the applicant, have been received. Some other relevant parties have also joined the appeal process. At present the parties are working through issues raised in the appeals.

In the past two years, Greater Wellington has received appeals on only two notified consent projects which is significantly less than previous years. This indicates that pre-hearing meeting processes (which often lead to negotiated outcomes) and decision-making processes (including releasing draft or interim decisions for comment from hearing panels) appear to be working well.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12

Year

No

.of

app

eals

rec

eive

d

Figure 2: Appeals received 2007-2012

The following appeals lodged in previous years were resolved during 2011/12:• J V & L A Petrie – The applicant appealed the original

decision to decline a groundwater take application in a fully allocated aquifer. After the applicant secured an allocation of water from two existing consent holders, all parties agreed to granting a consent subject to consent conditions

• Wairarapa Aggregates Ltd – The applicant appealed the original decision to grant (in part only) an application to establish a quarry west of Masterton. Three submitters joined the appeal as interested parties. Following mediation, all parties agreed to minor changes in consent conditions

• Meridian Energy Ltd – The applicant and four other submitters appealed the original decision to grant various applications associated with the development of the Mill Creek Wind Farm. An Environment Court hearing was held. An interim decision was released by the Court in December 2011, and a final decision was made in February 2012 that upheld the original decision with some changes to consent conditions

• Wellington City Council – Two submitters appealed the original decision to grant air discharge permits associated with the Careys Gully sludge dewatering plant. An agreement was reached between the applicant and the appellants, which resulted in the appellants withdrawing their appeal in February 2012

• There were no formal objections to any decisions and/or costs (under section 357 of the Resource Management Act) during 2010/11.

Take Charge and Other Initiatives 2011/2012

Quality for Life

Take Charge

Take Charge is Greater Wellington’s pollution prevention programme, aimed at improving the environmental performance of small to medium sized business across the Wellington region.

The programme involves an assessment of an organisation’s facilities, activities and management procedures, followed by a short report outlining areas of non-compliance and opportunities to improve environmental performance.

Businesses are assessed to ensure that they:• Complywithourregionalrules• Haveadequateequipmentandthecorrectprocessesandproceduresinplacetominimisetheriskof

contaminantsenteringtheenvironment

2011/2012 progress

Take Charge ProgrammeIn 2010 Greater Wellington partnered with Insurance Australia Group (IAG) to ensure that IAG’s panel and paint contractors comply with regional rules and improve their environmental performance. The 2011/2012 year saw a continuation of the Take Charge programme with the IAG member panel and paint sites.

Ten premises completed the self assessment checklist and were then audited by the Take Charge Coordinator. Each premise was issued with a report outlining actions to be completed in order to receive Take Charge Certification. The report also included actions that promote best practice on site, however, it was not necessary implement the best practice measures to gain certification.

The most common issue arising from the panel and paint sites visited, related to the washing/grooming of vehicles where the resulting discharge was able to enter the stormwater network. All sites where this was occurring have been required to cease discharging wash water to land where it may enter the stormwater network, as this breaches Rule 1 of the Regional Plan for Discharges to Land and the Resource Management Act 1991.

Other Pollution Prevention InitiativesStaff appeared in the Living Waters documentaries to raise awareness about the importance of preventing industry discharges to stormwater. Living Waters is a series of documentaries that explore the importance and dynamics of Porirua Harbour, and highlight threats to this fragile environment.

Looking ahead to 2012/2013

• Introduction of the Take Charge programme into the Naenae industrial area • Adaption of the self-audit checklist for use by other businesses as required • Ongoing media and educational initiatives to promote awareness of regional rules and how to

avoid non-compliance

Key Points

• TennewTakeChargeassessmentsandtwofollowupassessmentswereundertaken

• FivebusinesseswereawardedTakeChargecertificatesforsatisfyingtheprogrammerequirements

• Standardprogrammerequirementsandbestpracticemeasuresweredevelopedforthepanelandpaintindustry

Other initiatives

Staff at Greater Wellington also contribute to wider projects that assist with our core regulatory activities including:

Education and advice on water metering Greater Wellington staff held a workshop with water meter installers in December 2011 to discuss the new regulations for water metering. As a result of the workshop, Greater Wellington has provided water meter installers with helpful resources including tamper proof seals, labels for water meter identification, and tags which demonstrate if a water meter has been verified. Greater Wellington has also published and distributed a brochure on water metering to all water take consent holders.

Earthworks site scoring systemIn September 2011, Greater Wellington held internal and external workshops on erosion and sediment control as part of our Muddy Waters programme which has been in existence for nearly ten years. During these workshops Greater Wellington presented a new site scoring system for compliance monitoring of earthworks sites. The site scoring system is similar to that used by other Regional Councils and is aimed at providing an objective assessment of the performance of erosion and sediment control measures.

Electronic consents manualDuring the year staff processing resource consents contributed to a new electronic consents manual that describes all our procedures for processing resource consents. It includes many electronic links to internal template documents and external websites relating to the Resource Management Act 1991 and nationally recognised practice for processing resource consents.

More information

To advise the Greater Wellington Regional Council of environmental pollution, call the 24/7 Environmental Incidents Hotline on 0800 496 734.

To find out more about the Take Charge programme, contact the coordinator on 04 830 4089.

For more information on Greater Wellington’s environmental regulation activities, visit our website at www.gw.govt.nz